At nearly 66 years of age, on April 27th I'm going to be plodding around the streets of London to run my 9th London Marathon, in aid of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.

We are raising our second Guide Dog puppy, Allannah, who is due to start her 6 months of specialist training in Cork in April. Our first puppy, Otter is now nearing the end of his advanced training and hopefully will be matched with someone in the near future.

In 2022, one of our grandsons was born with no sight in one eye and limited sight in the other, and it's thanks to him that we became involved in such a rewarding and fulfilling activity with Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. .

In spite of it's name, the charity also trains assistance dogs for children with autism, life changing for the whole family. The dogs are assessed in Cork to determine what they are most suited for.

Despite all puppy raisers being volunteers, it still costs over €50,000 to train each dog so any donation will be greatly appreciated.